Several days before Israel celebrates its capital city on Jerusalem Day, Haaretz reports that the city is the poorest in Israel.
From Haaretz:
A report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel cites severe discrimination and neglect in East Jerusalem, which is home to more than 300,000 Palestinians.
In all, nearly two-thirds of Palestinian families live in poverty, compared to nearly one third of Jewish families, according to the report, titled "Human Rights in East Jerusalem Fact and Figures 2010."
Some 95,000 East Jerusalem minors (around 74 percent ) live below the poverty line, compared to about 45 percent of minors in Jewish neighborhoods, the ACRI report says.
As for the city in general, more people are moving away from it than to it, fewer people are joining the work force and the number of children in ultra-Orthodox schools is growing, CBS figures say.
Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city, with 774,000 residents – roughly 10 percent of Israel’s population, the CBS report says. The residents are 63 percent Jews, 34 percent Muslims, 2 percent Christians and 1 percent are not classified by religion in the Interior Ministry.
Last year Jerusalem’s population increased by some 14,000, mainly due to the city’s high natural growth rate. However, the city’s population diminished by 7,100 people during 2009, compared to 4,900 in 2008.
